By Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images President Obama will make an announcement sometime next week on "the way forward" in health care, spokesman Robert Gibbs said today. The big question: Will he support congressional "reconciliation," a legislative process that could enable Democrats to pass Obama's comprehensive $950 billion health care plan and avoid a Senate Republican filibuster. Gibbs said Obama will consult with congressional Democrats in the days ahead. The president hasn't made any final decisions, Gibbs added, only that he wants an up-or-down vote on health care. The president himself made the same point at yesterday's summit with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders. At the end of that session, Obama told Republicans: "The question that I'm going to ask myself, and I ask of all of you is, 'is there enough serious effort that in a month's time or a few weeks' time or six weeks' time we could actually resolve something?' And if we … [Read more...]
Obama announces ‘way forward’ in health care next week #p2 #politics #hcr #tcot
GOP Obstruction On Unemployment Compensation (Video) #p2 #politics #tcot
Republicans care more about blocking than their own constituency. This video shows Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky obstructing a motion to move unemployment compensation forward even though his state is disproportionately affected by the recession. … [Read more...]
Highlights From Healthcare Summit #p2 #tcot #politics #hcr
President Obama Opens the Health Reform Meeting President Obama lays out the plan for the day and his hopes for what can be accomplished. He talks about where we're at now and why this meeting is so necessary: "Politics, I think, ended up trumping practical common sense. I said at the State of the Union, and I'll repeat -- I didn't take this on because I thought it was good politics. This is such a complicated issue that it's inevitably going to be contentious. But what I'm hoping to accomplish today is for everybody to focus not just on where we differ, but focus on where we agree." "You are entitled to your opinion, but not your own facts" In response to Republican Senator Lamar Alexander's contention that premiums will go up under reform, the President cites the Congressional Budget Offices report that his proposal will actually lower costs for individuals. President Obama also cites some of the Republican ideas he's included in his proposal and makes it clear … [Read more...]
H1N1: Pandemic was emotional as well as physical
By Madison Park, CNN February 23, 2010 10:47 a.m. EST (CNN) -- Last spring, U.S. doctors' offices were barraged with phone calls and worried patients packed into hospitals. Schools closed. Face masks and Tamiflu were suddenly in short supply. The country verged on an H1N1 panic. The new flu virus, first widely reported in Mexico, was infecting the young and healthy, rather than those usually most at risk, the elderly and infirm. Beginning in April 2009, H1N1 flu fanned across the globe. The World Health Organization declared it a global pandemic in June. Hand sanitizer was suddenly seen everywhere, and, heeding the often-repeated advice of top U.S. health officials, many people began coughing into their shoulders or elbows rather than covering their mouths with their hands. "My patients were so anxious," recalled Dr. Danielle Ofri, an internist at Bellevue Hospital in New York. "They were so agitated. They wanted to know about that swine flu vaccine and … [Read more...]
Pelosi Calls Out Boehner’s Lies At Healthcare Summit #hcr #p2 #politics #tcot
I am a fan of Speaker Pelosi. She has more guts that every Democrat including the President. She is a proud liberal who have done all that was asked of her and she produced. Now if the men would the the country’s business we will have our bill. P … [Read more...]
